Intuitive Eating

In 1995, dietitians Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole developed the Intuitive Eating (IE) model to help their patients move away from the harms of dieting.

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Many weight loss studies demonstrate short-term success at reducing weight. Furthermore, weight loss programs that have been studied in the long term have a failure rate of up to 95% in 2 to 5 years. 

 

Not only is losing weight almost impossible for most people, each failed attempt to lose weight is very likely to result in weight gain. 

 

Between one third and two thirds of people who lose a substantial amount of weight on a weight-loss diet will regain all the lost weight and more within 5 years. 

 

Trying to lose weight for appearance purposes in ‘normal weight’ people can also result in weight gain.

 

In addition to being ineffective, dieting for weight loss only has minimal improvements in metabolic health indicators like cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose.

 

Psychological harms of dieting can include disordered eating, compulsive exercise, body dissatisfaction, distraction from other life goals, distrust of the body, and depression. 

 

Physical harms can include decreased nutrient absorption, weight-cycling and increased disease risk factors. 

 

Social harms of dieting include discrimination, stigma, prejudice, and other forms of oppression.

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Years of dieting and food rules have made us think we can't rely on our body signals.​

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Intuitive Eating involves working with individuals on reinforcing a dynamic integration between mind and body.

 

During an Intuitive Eating counselling process, I help people explore and practice 10 principles that help either cultivate or remove obstacles to body awareness, known as interoceptive awareness.

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Interoceptive awareness is the ability to perceive physical sensations. How we value and respond to these sensations is known as interoceptive responsiveness. I prefer to call this attunement, and this helps us identify:

• Emotional feelings. 

• States (tiredness, full bladder, etc.).

• Biological eating cues.

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In sum, practicing Intuitive Eating is a great way to honour our health by listening and responding to direct messages from our body about its physical and psychological needs.​

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Today there is robust research on the benefits of Intuitive Eating, with more than 70 published studies.​ A recent meta-analysis review of 24 studies published between 2006 and 2015 found that Intuitive Eating was associated with the following benefits: 

• Greater body appreciation and satisfaction

• Positive emotional functioning

• Greater life satisfaction

• Unconditional self-regard and optimism

• Greater motivation to exercise for pleasure rather than guilt or appearance

 

Furthermore, it was inversely related to:

• Disordered eating

• Dieting

• Poor interoceptive awareness

• Internalization of thin ideal

 

Another scholarly review evaluated the relationship between Intuitive Eating and health indicators, and found that it was associated with improved blood pressure, blood lipids, and dietary intake. ​

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Intuitive Eating is a process that takes time and practice, but there's lots to gain from it, if you are curious, I'd love to hear from you and answer all your questions and concerns.